


Memories

by MsOzma



Series: HSWC 2014 Fills [27]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Other, death mentioned, dream bubble ghosts, physical and verbal fighting, relationship can be seen as romantic or platonic, violence mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-07-23
Packaged: 2018-02-10 03:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2009196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsOzma/pseuds/MsOzma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You're surprised to stumble upon the memory, and even more so when you realize it's not yours.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Maaaaaaan, I haven't posted a lot of my works this time around. BUT HERE'S SOMETHING.
> 
> Based on this prompt:
> 
> "Eridan/Vriska
> 
> 'We know the fire awaits unbelievers  
> All of the sinners the same  
> Girl, you and I will die unbelievers  
> Bound to the tracks of the train'
> 
> -Vampire Weekend"

“What?  _What!? **You can’t do that!**_ ”  
  
“And why not!?”  
  
“’Cause it’s against the fuckin’  _rules_ , you cheat!”  
  
“ _Excuuuuuuuuse_  me!?”  
  
It was strange to stumble upon such a memory. It was early sunset then, as it appears to be now in the blasted death bubble, and you had just barely formed that beneficial rival-alliance with Vriska.  
  
Oh, that’s right. You two used to be a thing then. And now she’s just another person that wants nothing to do with you. Just like practically everyone else but Cronus.  
  
“This is  _ridiculous._  No wonder no one wants to FLARP with you!”  
  
“What!?  _WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?_ ”  
  
“I think I’m leagues above you, you dirtscrapin’ landhag!”  
  
“ _Ohhhhhhhh_ , you are going to regret those words, Dualscar!”  
  
“Not before I sink that pathetic excuse for a ship you have!”  
  
“ _THE MEGOLOVANIA IS THE BEST SHIP AROUND!!!_ ”  
  
“ _AS IF! IT’S_ NOTHING _COMPARED TO THE NAUTICAL NIGHTMARE!!!_ ”  
  
“Oh yeah!? Then  _PROVE IT!!!_ ”  
  
It’s strange for you to bear witness to a time when someone actually gave a damn about you. Even if that damn was based in some intense loathing, it was still  _something_. And to think…at one point she seemed to  _clearly_  reciprocate your feelings. Talk about a fucking achievement.  
  
You really have sunk so  _low_  since then.  
  
“Crazy, huh?”  
  
You literally shriek and jump at the first syllable of the sentence. You would like to say (and will claim until the end of time) that it was just because you haven’t been around people in so long.  
  
You will never admit that you’re actually jumpy as all shit.  
  
You hear the person now behind you let out at a cackle at your embarrassing stunt. The way she laughs is so familiar to you that you already know who it is without looking back.  
  
“Still jump at the slightest noise, huh Ampora?” Vriska teases, and  _God_  do you hate it when she teases. “Such a  _wiiiiiiiigglerrrrrrrr_.”  
  
You still don’t turn to face her, because you know your face is burning violet at this point and the  _last_  thing you want to do is to indulge in her already tremendous ego by letting her take away some of yours like she  _usually_  did back then.  
  
This, of course, bothers her.  
  
“Hey!” she says, a hint of irritation in her voice. “The least you can do is turn around and  _face_  me!”  
  
You continue giving her the cold shoulder, your humiliation giving way to pride as well as inward gloating that you can  _still_  fuck with Vriska. A part of you is aware that you should probably feel grateful that someone went out of their way to talk to you, but you’ve had doomed versions of your friends try to talk to you thinking you were  _their_  Eridan that you’ve grown skeptical of any form of company.  
  
“Fine then!” Vriska says, saying it like she doesn’t care, but in a way where even  _you_  can tell she does. “And here I thought at least  _we_  could be civil to each other!”  
  
The last statement leaves you confused—so much so that you can’t stop yourself from turning around to look at her walking away.  
  
“And what the fuck does  _that_  mean?”  
  
She stops dead in her tracks when you speak. Ever so cautiously (or so it seems) she turns to face you, and…  
  
…is that  _cerulean_  falling down her cheek?  
  
She wipes it away before you have time to process it.  
  
“I  _meeeeeeeean_ ,” she begins, “that considering our actions are considered  _unforgivable_  that we at least could come to a sort of…I dunno, _understanding_.”  
  
The way she says “unforgivable” just makes you  _know_  she means what you did to Fef, Kan, and Sol. Meaning she was definitely an Alpha.  
  
Also meaning she had no reason to be this cordial with you. Which probably meant she was manipulating you.  
  
You are beyond angry at this implication. “And who the fuck are  _you_  to judge me, Mindfang!?” you yell at her.  
  
Before she could question your outburst, you begin stomping toward her, ready to fucking  _strangle_  her.  
  
“Miss ‘I’ve-killed-thousand-a-trolls-to-feed-my-lusus’ Serket. The same Mindfang that had no qualms blindin’ and killin’ people outta straight vengeance!”  
  
When you’re finally standing before her, she finally has a voice to speak with, and anger to match yours.  
  
“And why the fuck  _else_  do you think I could get along with you!?” she yells back, her spit hitting your face as she hollars. “You’ve killed as many trolls as  _I_  have, asswipe! And you’ve killed and blinded people for your  _own_  personal vendetta, so why don’t you  _back the fuck off!?_ ”  
  
She pushes you away with such force that you land on the ground. Fuck, you forgot she was fucking  _powerful_.  
  
“And anyway,” she continued, “I’m not the one who barged into someone else’s  _dream bubble_!”  
  
The newly divulged piece of information surprises you. You were starting to think that this scene of you and Vriska fighting was one a doomed Eridan conjured up. You would have never guessed  _any_  Vriska would find a memory with you worth making a dream bubble out of, especially not _yours_.  
  
Looking around at the dream bubble and how precisely it fit that evening when you and her gave each other black eyes and bruises (and also hearing the fight happening behind you), you can’t help but not entirely believe she remembered it as well as you did.  
  
“ _You_  made this bubble?” you ask tentatively. As she rolls her eyes at you, you quickly add, “But… _why_?”  
  
“Weeeeeeeellllllll…” she began, still clearly angry at your outburst. “Maybe if you had half a pan in that head of yours, you’d recall me saying I thought we could  _understand_  each other. Maybe after all this time it’s kind of  _nice_  to think about people who wouldn’t be so quick to judge every move I make because, hey,  _they know what it’s like_.”  
  
She reaches a hand out to you so quickly that at first you mistake it for a fist and flinch. You think for a second she’ll laugh at you again, but when you look up at her (prepared to throw a scowl and defiant glare her way) you see a softness in her eyes that you’ve seen…well, only a handful of times before. Vriska is hardly  _ever_  soft.  
  
“ _Maybe_ ,” she continues, her voice matching the softness in her eyes, “I thought at least  _you_  were still my friend.”  
  
If you weren’t so bewildered by the newfound sympathetic side you just found in Vriska Serket, you would have scoffed. You and she were  _never_ friends. Rivals and kismeses, maybe, but friends?  _No._  
  
The silence hangs there for a moment, until you realize even the scene behind you has grown quiet, and all you hear are your younger selves panting after a fight.  
  
“Give up yet!?”  
  
You hear your voice and realize that this first fight was one that you actually  _won_ , even if it was just barely in your own head. You were barely even standing, you remembered, and actually had to ask Fef to get food on her own because everything just hurt way too much.  
  
Vriska, of course, couldn’t even manage to stand. But she still could  _scream_.  
  
“ _NOT UNLESS YOU TAKE IT BACK!!!!_ ”  
  
You remembered being confused by the statement. Hell, you were confused now. What did she want you to take back?  
  
“Take back what you said about people not wanting to FLARP with me!” she screamed, and you could hear her voice wavering as if she was actually deeply hurt at the accusation. “ _TAKE IT BACK!!!_ ”  
  
You suddenly become aware that Vriska is still standing above you,  _still_  holding her hand out, yet now her face is downcast. In your mind, you only vividly remembered the fight you two had. You assumed that must have been the same reason  _she_  remembered it.  
  
And yet…  
  
You hear yourself scoff. “Land dwellers really  _are_  fuckin’ stupid. A  _course_  people wanna FLARP with you.  _I’m_  FLARPin’ with you, aren’t I?”  
  
Suddenly you can remember vividly what happened next. The way Vriska looked up at you with her four-sweep-old eyes. The softness that you recognized in her just moments before. The way you extended your hand to her like it was a goddamn favor to her that you were looking past this loss on her record.  
  
“I don’t think you’re gonna be able to hunt today,” you said, “so I should probably take you back to your hive.”  
  
You remember the way she grinned and rolled her eyes as her hand grabbed yours and you pulled her up, putting her arm around your shoulder as you carried her aboard your ship to get her back to her hive. Of course she was ready the next day to make up for her lack of hunting, but you were still sore and took the week off.  
  
You come back to the present with Vriska standing before you. Her eyes meet yours this time.  
  
“We did shitty things,” she says, “and we probably deserve the bad things that happen to us. But that should only mean we understand each other better than anyone. People may talk to me more than you, but I  _know_  it’s just because I make them listen. You…well, I thought we could actually  _talk_  to each other.”  
  
In your mind, it isn’t strange to think you and she had anything in common. It was the fact that you had so many things in common that made you two such great rivals back then, or so you always thought. What  _is_  strange, in your own mind at least, is the fact that after sweeps of you two knowing each other, that this was the first time you ever  _agreed_  with her on something.  
  
Even your ego can’t stop you from taking her hand and letting her pull you up.


End file.
